State minister asks BIWTA to step up revenue drive, improve services
Razib Ahsan also instructed BIWTA to introduce phased automation of cargo loading and unloading at river ports, strengthen coordination with relevant stakeholders to improve vessel safety, and identify new sources of revenue for the Port Division.
State Minister for Shipping Md Razib Ahsan, today (23 July) directed the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to further intensify its activities to improve service quality, expand revenue collection and make the country's inland water transport system more modern, safe and efficient.
The directive came at a view-exchange meeting on "Enhancing the Authority's Revenue Generation and Service Improvement," held at the sixth-floor conference room of BIWTA's head office, with Ministry of Shipping Secretary Zakaria also present.
Mohidul Islam, Additional Secretary to the government and Chairman of BIWTA, opened the meeting with a PowerPoint presentation on the authority's revenue and income growth, service improvement measures and ongoing development activities, touching on dredging operations, maintenance of river navigability, river port management, leasing activities, revenue collection, ensuring water safety and digital transformation of services.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Following the presentation, the state minister issued a series of directions aimed at making BIWTA's operations more result-oriented and people-friendly.
He asked the authority to carry out dredging in a cost-effective manner, prioritising routes most in need of excavation, and to take up projects to make buoys, lights, beacons and navigational markers more visible across waterways to enhance safety of movement.
He also instructed BIWTA's Port Division to give special priority to quickly settling ghats that remain unresolved in leasing up to the seventh phase of the 2026-27 fiscal year, and called for updating foreshore and land-use fees to boost revenue alongside effective steps to expedite civil suits related to ghats and points.
The state minister further directed the authority to introduce automation in cargo loading and unloading at river ports in phases, take coordinated measures with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the safety of vessels plying the waterways, and identify potential new revenue sectors for the Port Division with quickly implementable initiatives.
Speakers at the meeting said BIWTA needs to be transformed into a more efficient, modern, technology-driven and service-oriented institution in line with the government's Smart Bangladesh vision, stressing the need to create new avenues for revenue generation while ensuring optimal use of existing resources.
The state minister and the secretary, at the end of the meeting, expressed hope that swift implementation of the directions would help BIWTA enhance service quality, expand revenue collection, ensure navigational safety and make the country's inland water transport system more effective and people-friendly.
